2025-12-09

Over the past two decades, Accumax Lab Devices has expanded its portfolio beyond consumables to include sophisticated instrumentation for life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biopharma, and vaccine manufacturing. In an exclusive conversation with Pharma Industrial India, Aanak Goswami, DGM – Marketing, Accumax, shared insights into the company’s innovations, sustainability initiatives, global expansion, and plans for the future of the pharmaceutical industry.

Q. To begin with, what defines Accumax, and in what ways is the company contributing to the pharmaceutical industry?

Accumax was founded in 2003 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with a clear objective — to deliver accuracy at maximum, which is reflected in our name itself. The company aimed to develop products of high quality at affordable prices. We started with liquid-handling consumables such as pipettes, tip and tubes, and later expanded into instrumentation with centrifuges and other benchtop equipment. Our portfolio today caters to a wide spectrum of industries — life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biopharma, vaccine manufacturing, research and academia, as well as healthcare and diagnostics.   

Under the Accumax brand, and with over two decades of presence, we now operate four manufacturing facilities — three in India and one in Nordhausen, Germany. Today, we export to over 130 countries and manage a portfolio of more than 1,500 SKUs.

The life sciences and biotechnology markets continue to grow year-on-year. Traditionally, healthcare relied more on conventional technologies — for instance, in oncology, radiotherapy and chemotherapy dominated. However, we are now seeing the rise of targeted therapies designed for specific cancer types, and we support this evolving landscape with innovative consumables and equipment.

Precision and accuracy are critical in life sciences as scientists often work with very small reagent quantities and volumes. So, we recently came up with an innovative technology called low-force pipetting, designed to require minimal force while delivering highly precise results. We have also launched a biopharma range that supports vaccine manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals.

Q. How is Accumax reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainability?  

Sustainability is something that should create a real impact in research. We, as an organisation, are also doing our part by reinforcing our commitment to sustainability through our products and processes.

We have developed a product that uses 60 percent less plastic compared to traditional products currently available in the market. It is a pipette tip rack, widely used across laboratories. To achieve this reduction, we replaced the plastic with a biodegradable, PCR clean paper material which has helped cut overall plastic consumption by 60 percent. In addition to this, there is another product called Reload wherein the overall space reduction is upto 55 percent, resulting in lower transportation costs and, subsequently, a reduced carbon footprint.

At our manufacturing facility, we use electric injection molding machines instead of hydraulic systems. Recognised by Ecovadis - a global sustainability rating, Accumax sits in India’s top 10 percent companies for sustainability commitment. We volunteer not once a day, but every day because sustainability isn’t an initiative, it’s who we are. Our facilities run on clean and renewable source of solar energy.

Q. You spoke about affordability and quality — how do you strike a balance between the two?

Affordability and quality are both essential — and finding the right balance between them is always a challenge. What gives us a clear advantage is our fully integrated, in-house manufacturing ecosystem. Since we control every stage of production, from manpower and machinery to testing and validation, we’re able to keep costs significantly lower without compromising on performance. By not outsourcing any part of the process, we maintain consistent quality, faster turnaround, and truly competitive pricing in the global market.

In terms of quality, we have experienced scientists from the industry on board, supported by the right infrastructure. This enables us to deliver products that meet high-quality standards while still remaining affordable in the market.

Q. As you cater to both domestic and international customers, what differences do you observe between demand in India and in overseas markets?

Demand in India is steadily growing, whereas global markets are relatively more mature — customers abroad are already clear about the technologies they require and the products they want to use. So, we can say that India is a growing market, while the global market has already reached a growth stage.

Before COVID, there was some reluctance in international markets to adopt products from Asia-Pacific manufacturers. However, the pandemic changed that perception. As people began using a wider range of technologies, they recognised the quality and capability of Indian manufacturing. This shift helped build trust, leading to greater acceptance globally.     

Q. When you enter global markets, you compete with international brands offering similar products. How do you differentiate your brand from theirs?

When we enter global markets, we compete with many well-established players — including regional leaders with strong local presence. This makes it even more critical for us to deliver high-quality products at an affordable price. That is where we have consistently succeeded. Our ability to combine quality, service and value allows us to differentiate ourselves from the existing vendors and build trust in competitive markets worldwide.

Our company’s purpose — Accuracy at Maximum — reflects this commitment and aligns with our name, Accumax. It defines how we design, manufacture, and deliver every product, ensuring precision and reliability for customers across the globe.

Q. There are regulatory challenges both in India and internationally. How does Accumax navigate these?  

We have a full-fledged regulatory and compliance team. As I mentioned, even though we are an Indian company, we started from an international market and ensured we met all global compliance requirements. We hold all the necessary certifications, including CE, IVD, and ISO, recognised in the respective countries. We launched our products in the market only after fulfilling these regulatory requirements.

Q. With the growing adoption of automation and AI in manufacturing, what steps is Accumax taking to integrate these technologies?  

We are planning to upgrade some of our software to include AI interfaces, for example, for readings. These AI-enabled systems can provide a comprehensive databank for customers. As the world embraces AI technologies, we are keeping pace and integrating them where relevant.  

Regarding automation in our processes, we have already implemented full automation in manufacturing. The consumables we manufacture—even the caps of the tubes—are completely produced by a single machine, with no human intervention. Humans are only involved in a few packaging processes.   

We also have a fully automated machine that produces the Petri plates, and even the packaging is automated.

Q. Looking ahead to the next one to two years, what new products are in Accumax’s pipeline?

We are working very actively in the biopharma sector, particularly in vaccine manufacturing. Ever since COVID, the importance of vaccines has become even more evident. Over the past few years, we have supported companies like Serum, Biocon and Syngene extensively.

We are now developing biopharma-related products, focusing on single-use solutions for vaccine manufacturing. This initiative is still in its early stages — we only started about two years ago — but we are steadily expanding our offerings in the biopharma industry and have many new developments in the pipeline.    

Q. The Indian pharmaceutical and medical sectors are evolving rapidly. In this context, what recent trends have you observed, and what developments do you anticipate in the next two to three years?

Yes, the industry is certainly evolving. Research and academia are two important segments. In life sciences, academia in India has changed significantly. Earlier, there were very few specialised courses available, but now many specialised programmes exist at the academic level.

Research in India, as well as globally, is increasing steadily. For example, oncology is a rapidly growing area within the biopharma industry. Biotechnology as a whole is expanding day by day, from agricultural cloning to developments in human cloning and genome sequencing. Overall, the biotechnology sector continues to experience significant growth.

Q. India is still dependent on imports for many things, such as APIs and medical manufacturing equipment. Looking ahead, perhaps over the next decade, do you see the country achieving self-sufficiency?

Absolutely. To be very honest, it will still take some time because high-end instrumentation and machinery are areas where India needs to catch up. However, the landscape is changing, and we are already seeing progress.

For example, before COVID, there was not a single vendor in India manufacturing real-time PCR equipment or kits. Today, many Indian companies have emerged and are producing these products domestically. This is a clear indication of the shift in the market, and the change is ongoing.

Q. Are you currently benefiting from government initiatives such as the PLI scheme?

There are benefits available for startups, but not much for companies that are already well-established, like ours. We also face challenges when exporting to different markets. For example, the tariff situation in the US remains an issue that we hope the government will address. Overall, apart from support for startups, our industry does not receive significant backing from the government.

Q. What kind of support or policy changes would you like to see in the near future?

Ideally, goods that we export to different countries should be subsidised, especially given the current tariff situation. For instance, tariffs are currently at 50 percent, which has significantly impacted our US business. On the other hand, US vendors are also affected because they can no longer get the same prices from us. Their customers, in turn, are unable to maintain previous pricing, but they cannot easily switch to another brand either, as they have been procuring from us for many years. This creates challenges on both sides.

If the government could step in and provide some form of subsidy to offset a portion of these tariffs, it would greatly benefit the Indian economy, enabling us to continue exporting efficiently while keeping products affordable for customers in the US.

Q. Following the US tariffs, are you planning to shift your focus to other global markets?

We haven’t finalised any concrete plans yet, but we are evaluating our options carefully. With the recent slowdown in the US market, we’ve strategically shifted more focus toward other regions to balance the overall impact. This approach allows us to maintain steady growth while continuing to explore opportunities in the US as conditions improve.

As for the next big markets after the US, Europe is definitely a key focus. Latin America is also important — we have strong markets in Brazil, Portugal, Ecuador and Peru. Overall, the European market remains a significant opportunity for us.